The Tails of Difference
by acethehunted
Summary: Naruto is dragged into the seedy underground of the shinobi world from the very beginning. The Team 7 dynamic is changed and everyone is having to cope with a Third Hokage that is preparing for war. Everyone is now being strained to the limits so that the village will be fully prepared for anything. Kami/Yami no Shinobi team up. Naru/Saku, OC/?, Sas/? review please or just enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I don't own Naruto. Rewrite of Tails of Difference going in a completely new direction, hope you all enjoy.

**Chapter 1**

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk at the top of the Hokage tower. The paperwork stood stacked up along the desk and he was steadily being buried behind it. A knock sounded from the door and Sarutobi looked up briefly before breathing a sigh of relief. "You may enter." The allowance was brief but the power of it was still resounding off of the walls.

"My old friend, I believe you would know why I am here." An old man uttered as he limped into the room, the cane in his hand clacking occasionally along the floor.

"Indeed, if my guess should be proven right it regards to the want of you to recruit a shinobi from the graduating class for the, if memory serves, the now defunct Anbu branch codenamed Root." The smirk on his face broadened at the jibe against one of his oldest acquaintances in the world. The other old man's sole eye showed some irritation at the reminder of his secret operations for the village weren't always as secret as he had hoped.

"I, Shimura Danzo, would like to not recruit a single shinobi but propose to the venerable Hokage an interesting idea that I think he would find very enticing." Danzo's face had been devoid of emotion as soon as he had started to speak but a brief flare of victory and smugness was visible to Sarutobi's aged eye.

Sarutobi leaned back into his chair for a brief second before pushing away from his desk and standing. His aged hands quickly found the old carved pipe that rested on the right hand side of his desk. It was lit quickly as he took a deep puff off of it and stood facing the window highlighting the village but most importantly the Hokage monument. Danzo quickly found his way next to Sarutobi and gazed out at the village they both had sacrificed so much for. "Danzo, what are you planning? I don't believe any of the up and coming shinobi of this class really personifies anything that would make Root beneficial to them or the village."

Danzo cut his left eye over to Sarutobi and he took a deep breath. "I know. That is why I am not seeking that one of them being left for a Root agent to pick up and have them indoctrinated. They all possess too much of the flare for the dramatic or not enough battlefield intelligence to make them worthwhile. I do have an idea, shall we say, that should appeal to you Hiruzen. What if the Yami no shinobi and Kami no shinobi came together one last time upon the battlefield? An exquisite fight to a glorious death ensuring Konoha makes it through to the next age. We are too old to do the front line fighting, but we are not too old to pass down the techniques and the wills of our senseis."

"It is interesting indeed, but you know the council would call favoritism if either of us, let alone both, took a team on at this stage. Most of the up and coming students of this class are clan heirs or second-in-lines for the clan."

"That is why we still assign the pupils I have a hunch about to the great Kakashi no Sharigan. He will act as the sensei throughout the village whiles he, as well as us, will train the children in secret in Tobirama-sensei's old private grounds. Think of it, it could be the answer to the problem of their being an odd number of students. A four-man cell that will receive the good and the bad in training form creating the perfect rounded front-line enemy demolitions team. It will be a team of talented shinobi that could be the first and only line of defense in certain areas that free up other teams that aren't necessarily front-line fighters to be in their proper support roles. The fourth member could be one that is entered into training so that Tsunade-hime's idea from before the incident that drove her away would raise the team's chances of survival.

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe in silence for a few more moments. "Who would you suggest would be on this team?" He glanced sideways at Danzo as he took another drag of tobacco smoke and blew the smoke out through his nose. "Also, what are the qualifications that each would have for their roles in the team?'

Danzo smirked again as he produced a sheet of paper from the inside of his kimono's overcoat. "I would like to request that each member be as presented: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Koguma Chiisai, and Uzumaki Naruto." He took a deep breath and noted the mint-like smell from the pipe in Sarutobi's hand, and realized the relaxing type sensation that it gave to the atmosphere. 'Well played, old friend, I doubt many would realize that their senses were being dulled and guards lowered so easily by just having a refreshing, soothing smell coming from the office of the Kami no Shinobi.' He nodded at Sarutobi as he continued, "Haruno-san is the interesting one in shinobi potential. She has the book-smarts that many ninjas lack, but needs to be rebuilt from the ground up in the physical conditioning side of things. I could have her train as the team medic and support role so that her overall development would enhance the development of the team. Otherwise, I see her as a third-wheel type on any of the other possible team combinations that would stagnate until her sensei wised up and sent her into the medic or genjutsu departments."

Hiruzen smiled and nodded as well. "Yes, she does seem to fit quite well into the role of Tsunade's desire for a fourth team member that would be a battle-field medic. Also, the last few student evaluations have noted her extreme chakra control."

Danzo conceded the point and continued on. "Koguma is a natural at the arts of taijutsu and weapon usage. While the other two boys have a potential in the mid-range category, he is destined to excel at the close-range front. He would bring balance to the others propensity for longer attacks. I would have seen him as a perfect pupil candidate for Maito Gai if Gai-san didn't already have a team." Danzo paused and readied himself mentally and physically for the proverbial plunge he was about to take considering the last two potential students for the team he was lobbying towards creating. "Uchiha would lean towards the arts of his clan which, while formidable taijutsu practitioners, lie heavily in the gen- and ninjutsu departments. I would believe that he would be good for the team in that he could hit the enemy leaders with directed genjutsu and then he as well as the others would then be able to strike first with blanket area ninjutsus that would devastate moral. I would also suggest that he go through a basic psychological evaluation and some emotional conditioning to weed out disloyalty to the village and detrimental mindsets to himself."

Hiruzen grunted in agreement to the two evaluations he had just heard. "I agree with Koguma-kun. He has been diverse in his studies and relationships with all those in the academy, but has yet to find his notch to fit into because there are no heavily-reliant taijutsu users at the academy. Uchiha Sasuke could also be very formidable if we build him in this way instead of just a ninjutsu tank that most of the Uchiha tended to favor. Now, what about Uzumaki-kun?"

"Uzumaki is the, for lack of better wording, chakra battery of the team. He already has an excessive amount of chakra that he can throw around like it was nothing. He would be the team's pure ninjutsu specialist that would be fortified through the use of some weapons and taijutsu training. Also, with his heritage, we could mold him in the fuinjutsu department that would stay with his unpredictable nature. A true Uzumaki in just about every sense of the word while also still hiding his jinchuriki status and lineage on his father's side. His loyalty, despite some lesser treatment by general populace, is outstanding. He could outdo many of the active shinobi in the dedication that he shows towards this village." Danzo stopped when Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak and lowered his eyes slightly to show his obeisance to Sarutobi's desire to speak.

"Would it be wise for him to not know about his status? I believe it is time for him to be told. It would also help team cohesion if they were all made aware of the stance that Naruto is the jinchuriki and that while all are important to this village, Naruto-kun is not to be lost."

"Exactly, Hiruzen, in that the team should know Uzumaki is not to be lost, but I as a counselor can only advise the honorable Hokage about whether or not they should all know about his jinchuriki status. It might be smart to break the news to him after his upcoming graduation."

"Go on, then, about what all you think the team could handle."

"All of them will be made at least proficient in the three main styles of shinobi fighting, and would all be allowed to test, under Root supervision, the use of several different types of personalized weapons and see what holds the best fit for their styles of fighting and allow them to incorporate them into daily use." Danzo stopped here and made to turn around. "I will be available at the Hokage's call when the decision is made on whether this humble shinobi's request is approved or denied. Thank you for your time Hokage-sama."

"Thank you, Danzo, for your interesting insight and I will let you know by the end of graduation on what will be done according to these students that you have brought to my attention." Sarutobi continued to gaze out the window towards the monument until he heard the door shut to his office. He turned his head slightly and confirmed Danzo's departure before heaving a sigh and moving back to his desk. "A shinobi team with the Will of Fire and the bloodied hands of an Iron Heart. That will be something to see."

**At the Academy**

Iruka stood in front of his students as the day was winding down. "Alright, kids, it's time to test on your knowledge of the Henge technique." A groan greeted his statement but everyone in the class started to file into the line to test as they all knew the routine for Academy classroom procedure. It all seemed to go fine until a slightly smaller boy with blonde hair made his way to the front of the line.

"Henge!" His shout was accompanied by a puff of smoke that concealed him for a moment. When he emerged it was in the form of an older teenage girl that had blonde pigtails and shining blue eyes. She was naked except for puffs of cloud that obscured her chest and groin areas. Iruka shot back from a nosebleed before hitting his head against the chalkboard. The blonde turned back into his normal form before chuckling and saying, "Ha! I got you Iruka-sensei. The mighty Sexy Jutsu that cannot be defeated has claimed another victim from the veteran shinobi forces."

"Na-ru-to!" Iruka instantly shot to his feet and the blonde was already quickly on his way out of the door as the school-bell rang. "Class, be prepared for the graduation testing that will take place the day after tomorrow." The children sighed in relief as they started to file out of the doors. "Oh, and you have tomorrow off to practice anything that you have been desiring to improve for the test." This statement was greeted with cheers from the students as they started to sprint from the classroom, some not knowing that their futures were being discussed in the Hokage tower by their future military leader and one of his confidants.

**Ichiraku Ramen Bar**

Naruto sat on a stool as he waited Teuchi's bringing of his first bowl of ramen. The serenity of the ramen bar was soothing to the boy, a safe refuge in a dangerous village. His day was only looking up from here even as he heard Iruka-sensei sit down. He turned and immediately noticed that his sensei's scar that ran across his nose was pinched together at the ends slightly in exasperation. "Naruto, how do you always cause problems just in time for you to escape?" Naruto laughed in response as Teuchi put a miso-pork ramen in front of him.

"The best always have an escape route planned. I thought you were teaching us to be the kick-ass, super ninjas. Super ninjas can't be caught, Iruka-sensei." Naruto looked at the man he considered his older brother. Iruka had been strict as a sensei but was the only sensei that had reached out to him after classes to make sure that he was alright and developing as a good person.

"Touché, Naruto. Now, what does the little genius suggest by way of ramen?" Iruka smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair as they sat in silence. Naruto looked up to Iruka and smiled conveying as much respect for the man as he could. Dinner at the ramen bar continued in peace with a warm atmosphere that made both wonder if this is the family that they had been missing all these years.

**Two Days Later- Hokage Tower**

Naruto crept silently towards the Hokage's archive. The shadows played strongly to his prankster nature that had strengthened his stealth skills to high chunin-low jounin levels. The scroll he was looking for was very easy to spot from the doorway, almost too easy. Naruto slid along the wall as he circled the podium that had a large red scroll with the kanji for forbidden running along the middle of it. 'Too easy, that has to be a set up. Common misdirection for outside sources that aren't used to the tower's set-up.' Naruto looked left and saw a larger green scroll that was placed diagonally in a book case that was in the furthest back from any of the windows and the door. He made a bee-line for that bookcase and stooped down to pick it up. "Graduation here I come."

A creak echoed down the hallway outside the archive and Naruto shot ram-rod straight. He finished securing the scroll to his lower back and crept closer to exit in an effort to prepare for a quick escape. The Hokage walked through the door into the archive and immediately his eyes cut to where Naruto was trying to hide. "What are you doing, Naruto-kun?"

"Sexy Jutsu!" This yell was immediately greeted with the Hokage flying back from a nosebleed. He was stunned into the inability to respond as thoughts of naughty blonde secretaries that had been planted by a certain orange book that was plaguing the community of Konoha. "Yes! Even the Hokage cannot withstand the awesome that is personified by me, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto rushed from the tower and headed straight for the clearing that had been designated by Mizuki-sensei to meet up at.

He opened the scroll along the ground that was being overshadowed by the little cabin-like structure that stood at the back of the clearing. The scroll opened to the first few jutsus immediately. "Ok, Mizuki-sensei said to pass I had to learn one of the techniques, but I bet if I learn two techniques that I could be put back on top as the Rookie of the Year." He immediately looked down and started to read. "Shadow Clone Jutsu sounds alright and I think this Wind Style: Vacuum Wave Jutsu sounds awesome." Naruto settled in to train and was unaware of the hours that passed.

Iruka came sprinting into the clearing. "Naruto! You have to return the scroll now!" He was breathing heavy as he tried to calm himself and keep Naruto from being in danger. "That scroll is forbidden and there are several people looking for you to beat you down and return the scroll."

"But Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei said if I could steal the scroll and learn a jutsu then I get to pass the exam." Iruka's head snapped immediately up as chuckling broke out from the tree-tops around them. Mizuki came from the shadows at the top of the tree just above Naruto. He swung a large fuuma shuriken down at Naruto. The impact that was expected never came as Iruka appeared in front of Naruto and took the hit for him.

"I'm surprised you would put yourself on the line for that demon, Iruka. He is the one that holds the nine-tailed demon fox that killed your parents." Mizuki's eyes held a crazed gleam as he readied his only remaining fuuma shuriken and prepared to throw at the incapacitated Iruka and shell-shocked Naruto.

"I know he holds the nine-tailed demo fox, but he is my little brother. I believe that he will be Hokage, and that he will be the greatest protector of the village of Konoha." Iruka's voice was strained and blood leaked lightly from the side of his mouth.

"You hurt Iruka-sensei, and for that I'll Kill You!" Naruto's eye flashed red for a brief second before his hands flew into the cross hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," about twenty copies of Naruto poofed into existence and immediately rushed Mizuki.

The beat-down only lasted for a few seconds before a pulp that resembled Mizuki emerged and collapsed into blessed unconsciousness. "Good job, Naruto. Now, close your eyes real quick." Naruto obeyed Iruka's request almost immediately and he felt his goggles leave but quickly return to his forehead. "Ok, open your eyes again, Naruto." The world was still heavily shadowed but something looked different.

"Iruka-sensei, why do you have my goggles on your forehead?" Naruto started to feel his forehead when Iruka answered.

"You passed, Naruto. You are now a genin of Konoha. Congratulations." Naruto beamed a smile at Iruka and tackled him into a hug before the two headed for the Hokage's office to clear up the incident.

**Later that night- Hokage's office**

Sarutobi sat back in his chair with the smoke quickly spiraled from his nostrils up above his head and hung in a halo around the ceiling. He sensed a presence approach his door just minutes after Iruka and Naruto had left. "Enter, Danzo." The door opened immediately and an emotionless Danzo entered into the office and sat across from him.

"Sake, Hiruzen?" At the nod of the Hokage, a small jug and two small saucers were produced from a scroll and the two older men settled into their seats after the drinks were poured and the silence stretched peacefully between them.

"Danzo, I have approved your proposal. We will have the children decided upon meet with Kakashi and undergo the regular genin test. They will be taught underneath Kakashi, you, and me with the head medic instructing Sakura every other day. Tobirama-sensei's old training ground will be their permanent abode so to speak. Shadow clones of Kakashi and the kids will conduct D-rank missions around the village and their whole training will be conducted in secret."

"I approve, Hiruzen, but why the sudden use of secrecy? If anything, this sounds like the beginning to a new Anbu branch."

"Oh, this is the beginning of a new Anbu branch. One-third in secret and two-thirds is above ground. Jiraiya just sent back a report that lists threats from Orochimaru and an organization seeking to collect jinchuriki as top-levels that might attack the village within the year. Looking at the students that are most likely to pass leaves the second generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the other a conglomeration of the Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka students. This gives a good cover for our hidden team. Everyone expects great things from the other two teams and this team will be made to look like they are merely keeping pace but will be molded to have the knockout power of the Sanin as young teenagers."  
Danzo nodded and smirked. "Very well, Hokage-sama, the training ground will be cleared out and I will await you and the team to be there in two days' time." Sarutobi nodded his acceptance and watched as Danzo exited the office.

**Academy- Team Assignment Day**

"Ok, kids, here's the teams you will be assigned. Serve well in your jobs and I look forward to one day serving in the field with you. Team 10 will be Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino under Sarutobi Asuma. Team 8 will be Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba under Yuhi Kurenai. Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Koguma Chiisai, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto under Hatake Kakashi. You are all dismissed to meet your senseis at these designated locations. Everyone else here are your assignments….."

**A/N**: Here is the beginning of the story as how I want to rewrite it. I think you will like the quirks I'm about to throw in. I have decided to keep it Naruto/Sakura, but they both are only 12 on the brink of 13 at this point. They both will have other relationships before they end up together. I will leave the transition relationships up in the air, but just so you know it will be rather entertaining. Also since I am changing everything from after the genin test on in the way that the team works I think it will be interesting to announce that Sasuke will have a pairing and it will be entertaining to write. Also the OC, Chiisai, will have a good pairing and I think I slightly hinted at it. So read, enjoy, review if you feel like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** OK, this is where I start throwing in the true changes that won't alter too much of the storyline early on. I don't know how many of you didn't think Danzo was believable but it's my take on the essence of Danzo. Many have demonized him, even though he is a man purely for the forwarding of the village. My version of Danzo is going to still have the shady past but that doesn't mean he is of ultimate evil in the Narutoverse.

**Training Ground 7**

The genin-hopefuls of Team 7 sat around the memorial stone with the boys leaning against the posts and Sakura sitting in front of Sasuke. "I wonder what Hatake-sensei is going to be like. Think it'll be hard?" A brown haired youth said as his bangs covered his forehead and started to shade his green eyes.

Naruto looked over to him as the other two just continued to be pensive at the revelation from the Academy about the special make-up of the team. "I think it'll be great. No way am I being held back now. I will totally be Hokage in no time." Chiisai just looked over and smiled as Naruto continued his rant. The sun was quickly nearing noon and the patience of the students was about to start waning.

**Hokage Office**

Sarutobi and Danzo stood inside the office as Kakashi appeared before him, one eye covered by his headband and prominent silver hair standing on end. "Kakashi-kun, I'm glad that you could make it. Now, the team that you are about to go meet, on time I might add, is going to be special. There are four members and they will be passing the genin test no matter what, but I still want them to undergo the test itself so we can see the amount of teamwork they can possess. They will undergo special training. They will be Team 7 in the public of the village, but on out of village missions and other special training tasks they will be Team 0. You will lead them on missions, but the three of us and a few other guest teachers every now and again will be the ones training them. They are waiting for you at Training Ground 7. You will test them after a brief introduction from noon until three, and then you all will meet us at Tobirama-sama's secret training ground to finish the night on some very special projects." Sarutobi breathed out deeply, releasing a plume of smoke, as he finished his explanation. Kakashi nodded his head as an interested glint appeared in his eye.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Who makes up the team I will be taking?" Kakashi still had the glint to his eye, but the old men could just pick up on it with his bored body-language.

Danzo at this point stepped forward from the side of Sarutobi's desk. "You will be handling the testing of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Koguma Chiisai, and Uzumaki Naruto." He cleared his throat quickly. "They are set up to be a functioning frontline squad that will be able to handle all situations. We will better explain their situation when you arrive to the training ground." Kakashi nodded and shunshined out of the office towards the training ground.

**Training Ground 7**

Kakashi arrived to a scene that could only be described as bedlam. Naruto and Sasuke were locked in a struggle on the ground that was close to deadlocked. Sakura was being held back from jumping into the fray by Chiisai who was struggling as hard as he could to do so. Kakashi chuckled to himself and cleared his throat to get their attention. Both boys instantly jumped to their feet as Sakura calmed down. Chiisai eased himself between Sakura and Naruto to keep her out of arm's reach of the blonde. "Hello, kiddies, I'm Kakashi sensei and my first impression of you all is: you annoy me." His eye closed into an upside-down u-shape. The kids face-faulted and remained there for a few seconds before standing back up. "Well, let's start with some introductions."

Sakura quickly raised her hand and then spoke when Kakashi nodded her way. "Wouldn't you like to show us how first, sensei?"

"Ok, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My interests are none of your concern, my dislikes are my own, and my dream is to own every Icha Icha Special Collector's Edition in existence." He started to laugh to himself in a perverse manner while the students of Team 7 all looked at each other. "Now, you go first pinky."

Sakura sucked in a breath at the nickname but quickly started. "My name is Haruno Sakura, and I like…." At this point she looked over at Sasuke and squealed. "My dislikes are Ino-pig and Naruto-baka. My dream is to…" She stopped and looked at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye and squealed again to the annoyance of all the boys around her. Kakashi motioned to Chiisai to go next.

"My name is Koguma Chiisai. I like training and weapons, I dislike not being able to train, and my dream is to become a top-tier jounin or ANBU." Kakashi eye-smiled at this and motioned to Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like being strong and getting stronger. I dislike idiots and people that will hold me back. My dream, no my purpose, is to kill a certain man and reestablish the Uchiha clan." Kakashi nodded but his thoughts were very far from positive in regards to this introduction.

"Ok, now you, Mr. Ball-of-Sunshine."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, training, and Sakura-chan. I dislike the time it takes for ramen to cook and the people that disrespect me. My dream is to become the best Hokage ever! Believe it!" Kakashi smiled and looked to the sky noticing that it was close to noon now.

"Well, here it is for you guys. It's time for you to take the true genin test. Most likely all but one or two of you will fail and be sent back to the Academy. You have three hours to try to get one of these bells." Kakashi held up three bells before the genin hopefuls and tied them to his belt. "Come at me with the intent to kill if you want to pass. You have three hours. Go!"

At his mark Sasuke and Sakura instantly disappeared into the woods that made up the training ground. Naruto made to stand in front of Kakashi when Chiisai stopped from his jump and grabbed Naruto by the back of his orange jumpsuit. Chiisai readjusted his legs and jumped, trailing Naruto behind him. Kakashi eye-smiled and pulled out an orange covered book and started to walk nonchalantly into the deeper woods of the training grounds.

Chiisai looked at Naruto behind one of the screens of bushes as they both sensed Kakashi leaving the direct vicinity. "Hey, chill, we got to have a plan if we are going to take him on. We should probably get the other two to help us."

Naruto nodded his head. "I know, but I want to beat him into the ground. I bet I could do it."

"No, Naruto. He's the one that's supposed to be training us. If one of us could already beat him by ourselves then what good would him training us be?" Naruto nodded once again and they both took to the tree limbs and jumped towards where Chiisai could sense Sasuke was at. "We got to get Sakura at least if Sasuke disagrees. We'll make a plan and then try it out in an hour, wait for his guard to go down some."

Kakashi kept track on how the chakra presences of two of the genin went towards where the others were. At each juncture, the two presences continued on alone and Kakashi continued on reading until he felt one presence land in the clearing across from him. He nonchalantly lowered the book from his face and noticed Sasuke's perturbed look at the lack of concern Kakashi was showing towards him. "Want something?" This question seemed to spark something off in Sasuke and he jumped into the air as he started a chain of hand seals and took a deep breath.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" A fireball that was easily about four feet across careened from Sasuke's mouth towards Kakashi. Kakashi set his book back into one of his vest's many pockets. The fireball seemed to engulf Kakashi and Sasuke landed with a smirk until the smoke dissipated. A charred log was all that remained in the center of the burned out crater.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu" Kakashi's hands emerged from the ground and grasped Sasuke by his ankles. Sasuke all of a sudden was buried up to his neck underground and Kakashi appeared from the ground right in front of Sasuke with his back facing him. "You have a lot more to learn with that technique. You can never let your guard down in front of a superior enemy." Kakashi then took out his book and continued towards the other remaining singular presence.  
Sakura was wandering the outskirts of the clearing when leaves started to swirl around her and a barely perceptible whisper of "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu" entered her ears. She looked around and didn't notice anything as she sprinted towards the nearest stand of trees. She looked around her and she breathed heavily. A rustle to the right of her caused her head to snap in that direction and Sasuke staggered from behind one of the trees with kunai and shuriken sticking out from all over his torso. Sasuke then collapsed onto the ground and gave out a rumbling sigh before his body seemed to permanently freeze into the beginning stages of rigor mortis. Sakura then screamed and fainted, falling backwards and hitting her head against the tree she had been leaning against. Kakashi appeared from the treetop above her and then used ninja wire to tie her against the tree.

A kunai sliced through the air just in front of Kakashi as he turned away from the tied up Sakura. A set of shuriken then flew through the stifling air and hit all of the loops of wire that had tied Sakura. Four copies of Naruto then jumped from the bushes in front of Kakashi and bull-rushed him as Chiisai dropped from the treetop to pick up Sakura and spring back towards the bushes that the Naruto clones had come from. Kakashi looked at each of the clones before he went to punch one of clones and it broke into a cloud of smoke on contact. "Now that was something that I wasn't expecting." Kakashi whistled and finished the other three clones in quick secession before chasing after the three grouped presences that were quickly heading for the last presence.

Kakashi landed in the clearing to see Sakura laid out next to Sasuke as Naruto was digging him out. Chiisai stood in between him and the furiously working Naruto. "Doton: Kengan no Jutsu (Earth Style: Fist Rock Technique)" was heard from Chiisai as he submerged his hands into the ground in front of him and a small layer of clay covered his fists and he rushed towards Kakashi.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and then stopped digging momentarily to put his hands into a cross-shaped hand seal and announced "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu". Five copies sprang into existence and flanked alongside Chiisai as he charged towards Kakashi. He turned back to Sasuke and soon had the earth around him loose enough that Sasuke was able to wriggle free from the ground.

Chiisai connected a glancing blow off of Kakashi's guard that caused the clay that made up his technique to break off of his fists. He jumped back as the real Naruto jumped forward with Sasuke quickly behind him. Naruto quickly took a breath then shouted, "Futon: Shinkuha (Wind Style: Vacuum Wave)". He started to spin but ran out of breath before he could rotate more than just a half turn to cover the area in front of him. A disturbance in the wind showed that a wave of it was quickly headed towards Kakashi. It started to mildly cut the leaves that were caught up in it before another yell joined in.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" Sasuke quickly breathed out another fireball that merged with Naruto's slower wave of wind and a firestorm quickly erupted towards Kakashi.

Kakashi quickly weaved through a series of hand seals and said, "Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall)!" A ten foot tall wall of hard rock sprung up in front of Kakashi before the earth and fire wave surged into it from the other side. Kakashi heaved a sigh of relief after the wall crumbled. He looked up at the sound of an alarm going off quickly overtook all of their hearing, including the recently roused Sakura. All of the genin looked dismayed and started to trudge passed the eye-smiling Kakashi before he cleared his throat. "You all pass, my cute little genin."

A shared shout of "What!?" drowned out anything that he might of said. He looked at them before motioning for them to follow him. He led them back to the three original wooden posts where they had started. They all were short of breath by the time they made it back and leaned against the posts. Kakashi moved in front a little further before tracing something on a smoothed-out, polished, black stone that stood proudly in the entrance of the training ground.

"This is the killed-in-action memorial stone that all ninja of this village that have died for us are remembered upon. It is a high calling to be put here, but not everyone is meant to be on it. The key to this test was simple: those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. You all tried to take care of yourselves, but you all looked for ways to make sure the team would have made it through by working together, so you all pass. Now follow me to the area where we will be training and you will be told of why this team is set up in such a special way."

**Hokage's Office**

The glass ball on the Hokage's desk went blank. Sarutobi and Danzo just exchanged glances after watching the test unfold before them. Disbelief hung in the air and the old men that shared the same feeling couldn't bring themselves to speak quite yet. A knock came at the door and Danzo quickly strode over to open it. A tall man stood in the doorway as it swung open. The man's shorter black hair swayed in its spikes from the cross breeze going through the office. A lit cigarette trailed smoke behind him and started to mingle with Sarutobi's pipe smoke as the man stood at attention before the desk. "Welcome, Asuma, what is it that I can help you with?"

Asuma followed Danzo's movements as the old war hawk walked back to the desk from the doorway. "Hokage-sama, the testing for Team 10 and Team 8 are complete. Kurenai-san sent me ahead since I was already on my way here. May I now have the reasoning on why the tests were rushed ahead this year?"

Sarutobi sighed deeply and took another drag from his pipe. "Danzo-san and I are going to be slightly more active with this batch of genin. War clouds the horizon. We don't know exactly what is going on with all the other nations, but we do know that the next great shinobi war is not far off. Team 10 is to be trained to take the place of the previous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They are going to fulfill the new role for needed intelligence gathering, subduing the enemy, and a frontline support role that their fathers played in the Third Shinobi World War. Alert Kurenai that Team 8 is going to be undergoing more than just tracker training. They will also receive instruction in fore-guard and rear-guard training so they can better set and disabling traps while keeping a group safe from attack coming from ambush or pursuit."

Sarutobi Asuma took a second to process this. "Are we the only two teams that passed their students?" His perplexing was interrupted by Danzo's cane coming into contact with the floor as Danzo made to take a step forward.

"No, Team 7 has also passed under the tutelage of Hatake. They will be undergoing a special training regime to fill the role of a frontline assault squad. They will be more under wraps then the other two squads." Danzo wasn't willing to share any more than that and Sarutobi nodded his head to the explanation. Danzo smiled at the confused look on Asuma's face as he started to walk out of the office. "I believe it is time to head for the training ground. Certain ANBU operatives have already arrived and set up the place with safeguards so that we can finish training for the evening with Team 0." A shunshin quickly enveloped both legends as they quickly made their way to the secret location that the genin were being led towards the area.

**Tobirama Training Ground**

Kakashi quickly followed the genin down an earthen stairwell that dived deep from the ground above towards an artificially lit cavern with a small stream running from the upper left of it following the contour of the wall down and out along that same wall. His sense of where they were exactly was thrown off by how the stairs carried them down. It had leveled out several times only to twist and dive again away in several different directions.

The opening of the cavern was massive and the genin looked upwards to the ceiling in awe at massive tree roots that lined it. The sound of a throat clearing snapped the children's attention back down. Kakashi nodded to the two men standing there with several ANBU operatives kneeling behind them. The genin and Kakashi snapped to proper attention stance as Sarutobi stepped forward. "Today, you have become genin that will shape the future of Konoha. You will be drilled relentlessly into the ground to become the elite of your upcoming generation. This will not be the traditional genin training program. You will submit yourselves wholly to the operations of this village. You are no longer children and will not be treated as such. Uphold yourselves with pride." Sarutobi stopped his speech as Danzo stepped forward and looked for permission to speak.

Danzo waited till Sarutobi granted permission to speak. The children were weary of the battle scarred veteran of all three Shinobi World Wars. "Waiver of custody was sent to Ms. Haruno's residence. Your father, the proud shinobi that he is, already agreed to the terms of this training and there is no longer a home for any of you beyond this training ground. Two of you have already experienced the demands of shinobi life through interaction with true shinobi. One other through the loss of family to the lifestyle. I hold no remorse over what you all will experience from today onward." Danzo paused as the children-soldiers bowed their heads. "You will reside here with the intent to rise through the ranks. You will live together, train together, and serve together. Each will have their focus diverted to what will better serve the team and the village. Weapons skills will be handed down to you all from those that have better training in them. Chakra natures will be found by this evening along with the first training exercise in your careers."

Awe crossed all the faces that were looking at Danzo and Sarutobi. Kakashi was even awed by the pure fact that this was one of the few times he had seen the hardened war-leader in both of these men before him. Pride swelled within the chests of all those within hearing, not through personal pride, but pride that the village would grow to even greater heights through what they would endure here in this hidden training ground. Sarutobi moved forward to stand next to Danzo once again. "You all will be trained by Hatake Kakashi, but there will be other teachers as well. Shimura-san as well as I will also have a heavy presence in the training of you four. You will be Team 0 in this training ground and on missions. In the public you will act and behave as Team 7 only in the presence of the village populace. Now step forward and pick up your masks that you will bear with you from this day forth."

The genin stepped up to a table that had been off to the right of the village leader and his councilor. A name plate stood before each mask that resided on the table. Naruto bounded over first. His name was displayed before a red oni-mask that bore a striking resemblance to the full face masks that he had seen a samurai wear once when they had passed through Konoha during a festival. The other masks were also quickly picked up by the others: black for Sasuke, a forest green for Chiisai, and a navy blue for Sakura. All bore a resemblance to samurai masks only with even more pronounced devilish features around the mouth, lenses covering the eyes, and a hood to cover each person's hair. "This is so awesome!" Naruto's declaration came out slightly muffled by his mask. "Do these masks mean anything special?"

Danzo answered Naruto's question with an almost deadly calm, "These masks are made out of a resilient metal and clay substance to take a large amount of damage. The lenses and hoods help conceal your true identity with seals to be slightly resistant to weather and genjutsu. All they mean though is that you are now personal apprentices to me, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke spoke up at this point in time, "What are we supposed to train in tonight?" Sounds of agreement to the validity of the question came from Sakura and Chiisai.

Kakashi quickly added in, "And what are the areas that each of them will be training in so that I know who will be having the first training session with me?"

Sarutobi took this as his cue to clear up any confusion on anyone's part. "Tonight we will train in weapons and find the best fit for each of your styles through sparring. We will also look at what elements each of you are primarily geared towards. Naruto, you will be trained as the ninjutsu battery of the team with a lesser focus in taijutsu, weapons, and possibly fuinjutsu. Sasuke, you will have a heavier focus in genjutsu while having a secondary focus on ninjutsu supplemented by weapons and taijutsu. Chiisai, you will have a focus in taijutsu along with a focus in weapons, trap making, stealth, and from observed test scores sensing chakra presences. Sakura, you are the most integral part of the squad. You will have a heavy influence in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu so that the squad can better operate as a whole. You will also have a glassing over in the areas of weapons and taijutsu so that you will not be vulnerable to enemy attacks." Each of the genin looked at each other with confusion at all the areas the team would be trained in.

**Tobirama Training Ground- Midnight**

Naruto, Chiisai, Sasuke, and Sakura sat slumped on the ground as the Hokage stood above all of them. Danzo and Kakashi sat over against a table loaded down with weapons that had just been used to test and try to the styles of the new genin. Naruto had the most energy left out of the genin but that wasn't saying too much about his current chakra levels. Sakura's eyes were already drooping and Sarutobi had to clap his hands to make sure she was in the land of the conscious as he got ready to speak. "Ok, I think this is rather interesting that you all have a different style of flowing through the stances you all were taught. Sasuke and Chiisai, you two are heavy hitters that concentrate on blocking strikes in order to turn them against the person who threw them. Sakura, I know that this training session was pretty rough, but you did well in dodging and evasion. The only problem is that your hits don't have any power behind them. Naruto, you live up to your unpredictable nature. You can dodge and block, but you use every advantage to strike from any area you can reach. Now, go select the weapons you feel fit you best and I'll judge how you did. Sakura, you go first."

Sakura looked at the table as she approached. Her head was spinning slightly and her hand was shaking as she reached out and grabbed the table to steady herself. "I don't know maybe the basic kunai and shuriken?" Danzo shook his head and pushed forward a bundle that was wrapped in leather towards her. Sarutobi saw it and nodded.

"Ah yes, unroll that for us please." Sakura did as instructed with the roll. The leather was supple and easily came to display a case of senbon held in loops with a pair of spiked brass knuckles lying in the middle. "Those should fit in well. While you do hold impressive aiming capability with kunai, the senbon is more accustomed for a medic nin so that you can better target vital nerve clusters. The brass knuckles will also give your taijutsu the added punch that is needed. Sasuke, your turn."

Sasuke moved forward and passed Sakura. He reached out and quickly picked up a ninja-to that was in a red lacquered sheath. He went to walk back to his place in line when he was stopped by Sarutobi's voice. "That would otherwise be a good choice, but you did better with a different type of sword." Danzo picked up a long handled blade that resided in a black sheath with no hand guard. He unsheathed it and the blade ran long and straight until it hit a point. "Sasuke, you are more suited for the chokuto than anything. Its straight edge sits well in the rigid stance that you use derived from the Uchiha's interceptor style."

Chiisai stepped forward at this point and, as steadily as he could manage, grabbed a three section bo staff that he quickly leaned against to keep himself upright. "Good, Chiisai, that weapon, while being my personal favorite, is one to aid those that started with a basis in taijutsu so that you could open up space for yourself to use heavier moves or ninjutsu. Naruto, it's finally your turn."

Naruto quickly ran to the table and surveyed the table. Nothing caught his eye the first time he looked over the table but he quickly tried to reach for a longer katana when a cane hit the table in front of his hand. Danzo looked down at Naruto with a grim smirk and Naruto's mind instantly snapped to the villagers that had been ignoring him all his life. Danzo went to speak and Naruto looked back into his face. "Uzumaki, you have a given talent with a blade, but a katana has never been a great weapon for those that are unpredictable like you are. I believe a blade will suit you though. We'll see for sure after we test chakra natures in a few minutes." Danzo then leaned down over the table and grabbed two scabbards that were strapped together so that they would rest on the small of someone's back. "These should work for you." Naruto nodded and took the first blade from its scabbard and looked at the structure of it. It went straight for a good eight inches before it started to bend and curve towards the front of the blade so that the heavy point was closer to the hand than if it had been straight the whole way. "That is a kukri knife that some monks have come to favor and I think will suit you well."

Naruto then was ushered back to where the other three were seated as Kakashi reached into a pouch of his jounin vest and produced five slips of chakra papers and handed one to each of the genin and held one up in his own hand and explained how it worked. The kids watched blearily from half-lidded eyes as they saw his paper start to crumble before flakes turning to ash and another section turned to a fine dust. Sasuke was the first to pump chakra into his sheet of paper. His paper crumbled and murmurs broke out between Sarutobi and Danzo that the kids couldn't understand. Sakura went next and her paper soon became damp. Chiisai was pumping chakra into the paper when it quickly broke into dust as it crumbled. This caused another round murmurs to break out between Sarutobi and Danzo. Naruto held his paper up and it split into two separate pieces. Danzo smiled and nodded to something Sarutobi whispered to him.

Kakashi then picked the four up off the floor and started to usher them towards a rock wall that was towards the back of the room. "Ok, kiddos, the bunks are back behind here. We will be up at 0630 for morning stretches and each of you will be doing your first training session with the appointed sensei of the day." Kakashi listened to their mumbled complaints and chuckled to himself as he made to leave the training ground.

"Don't forget, Kakashi, you have to be on time from now on. Unless, you would rather go with the bunshins that will be doing D-rank missions that would originally go to Team 7." Sarutobi's voice carried across the training ground in a sing-song manner. Kakashi's shoulders slumped and Sarutobi's laughter was quickly heard as it followed Kakashi's dejected form up the first flight of stairs.

**A/N:** Ok, this wraps up the first look into what will be going on. I think it would be interesting to see what you guys think I am going to be giving Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto as a second element. Yes, they will have two elements, but no they're only going to know a few lower-tier jutsus for each element. Actually training beyond the ability to know the first few steps for each element is going to take a while to get here. Oh, and in case I forgot, I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I don't own Naruto in any fashion. It would seem rather absurd to me if someone actually believed I own a manga franchise. This chapter though we get a look into some of the team building/psyche-evaluations/training of Team 0.

_Underground- Tobirama's Secret Training Ground_

Time was hard to guess for the genin as Kakashi awoke them. Soreness and fatigue clung to them as they rolled from under their blankets and stood from the bedrolls. Sasuke was rubbing sleep from his eyes as he trudged to the edge of the earthen walls that blocked the sleeping area from the training grounds. "Kakashi-sensei, where are the bathrooms?"

Kakashi looked up from the large oaken table he had taken a seat at. "The restroom is up on the next flight of stairs and is set up a lot like the ANBU operatives locker rooms. One room half dedicated to toilets and half to showers. Only problem is that you boys and Sakura have to share that one bathroom. Have fun with that. You four also have ten minutes to use the restroom and change with the clothes that were brought in this morning before training." Sakura's face easily went from an already pale shade to a paste white as she overheard Kakashi's declaration. All four went sprinting to the restroom to try to wrest control of it before any inconvenience could happen. Kakashi laughed to himself and continued writing on a sheet of paper.

A yell of frustration from Sakura alerted Kakashi as well as Danzo to the outcome of the footrace. Danzo came down the last few steps and meandered over to the far wall of the training room. Shadows started to gather around the man as several minutes went by and Naruto appeared from the stairwell. He walked over to Kakashi and stood off to the side of the table. "What are you writing Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's something I'd be glad to tutor you in young Naruto. It's my humble apologies to the mighty log for sacrificing one of its own on my behalf yesterday with the team's testing. I can give you a more thorough breakdown of it on the days you train with me in ninjutsu. Hokage-sama should be here soon so that we can start our daily training and mission." Kakashi stood as Danzo pushed himself off the wall and they were joined by the rest of the team.

Sakura was a bright shade of red as she followed a ways behind Sasuke and Chiisai. "Um, Danzo-sensei, are we going to be training again so soon?"

Danzo smirked as he took a step from the wall and another shadow took the place he had just vacated. "Oh, yes, we are going to be training again. The schedule will be the same as any ANBU recruit would be going through to be accepted. Nine hour training, two hour break, five hours training, and then six hours sleep. Today we start with any specialization and behavioral management training needed for the four of you. Sakura, you will follow this operative to meet with the hospital's head med-nin. Chiisai, you will head with this operative to one of the top levels of this training facility where Hokage-sama is waiting on you. Naruto, you will go to training with Kakashi today. Sasuke, you're with me." The two mentioned operatives moved forward, going towards the stairs with Chiisai and Sakura following closely behind them. Naruto and Sasuke were witnesses to five more operatives appearing from various hiding spaces as they all used the Henge technique to look like Team 7. Kakashi then put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and shunshined to another level while Danzo stood next to Sasuke and readied the shunshin to travel for behavioral modification.

_Sakura- Approaching Konoha Hospital_

The Ne ANBU pulled up just short of the park area surrounding the hospital. He handed Sakura her mask and a ninja suit with hood to cover her regular clothes. "From here on out you will wear this when we leave the training grounds. If your teacher here at the hospital asks, your name is Ni. You will not be divulging any personal information. If you are around anyone that might recognize you, you are to end contact with them as soon as possible and make sure that they cannot identify you. Serve the leaf well, genin."

He shunshined out of sight and Sakura started to shrug the black ensemble on. The sunlight reflected off of her mask. The devilish smirk played off of the burnt brown outline and cream coloration of teeth. The mask was so unlike anything that she had ever seen in her shinobi training. "I have no idea what this could all lead to." She settled the mask over her face and continued on into the park. The hospital stood as the sole thing taking up the skyline in front of her. She trudged slowly up to the building and approached the entry desk. "Hello, I am here to see the head medic-nin. I believe he is expecting me."

The nurse attendant looked up at her and took in the appearance of Sakura in her guise. She shrugged her shoulders to herself and said, "He should be on the top floor in his office. You can ask the attendant up there which one it is. Stairs are to your left." Sakura quickly thanked the nurse before heading towards the stairs and the beginning of her medic training for the day.

_Sasuke- Undisclosed Root Hideout_

Sasuke sat in a chair that was bolted to the floor with a table, also bolted, in front of him. Danzo sat there with his lone visible eye closed shut in concentration. Sasuke wasn't sure what was happening but it was an odd way to be spending time when he could be training. A man with auburn hair and light green eyes walked in and took the seat next to Danzo. "Danzo-sama, we are ready to begin."

"Ah, Fu, you may begin young Sasuke's behavioral synopsis and augmentation." Sasuke's eyes opened wide as he looked at Danzo and the man now known as Fu. Fu nodded to Danzo and his hands wove through the signs for a Yamanaka technique. Sasuke tried to move from his seat but black descended before his eyes and his head bounced off of the table.

"I'm in Danzo-sama. I'll start with the memories around the time of the Uchiha massacre. What are your instructions for behavioral alteration?"

"Don't change anything yet. Just look into why he is behaving the way he is. I want to know what Itachi said to him at the time of the massacre. If anything interesting comes up just say something and we will make a decision for the best of the village from there." It was always odd to hear Fu's speaking mannerisms from another person for Danzo, but sometimes you had to take the odd to get the best results. "Oh, and after this session is over, contact Torune so that the two of you can run young Sasuke here through Root training course beta. I will be watching and expecting the best."

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

_Chiisai- Hokage Tower_

The mask itched against the skin of his face, but Chiisai just grit his teeth and continued to stand at attention next to the cat-masked ANBU in front of the Hokage as he finished debriefing one of the other genin teams as they had come in to pick up their first D-ranked mission. The genin kept cutting their glances towards the towering ANBU operative and, to them, the midget with a grimacing oni-mask that had gleaming fangs protruding from the slim lips.

It was a weird feeling for Chiisai to see classmates from the academy and them not being able to recognize him. The thought that ANBU would only be like this turned up to a factor of a thousand because while on duty his mask was to never leave his face flickered across his mind. He smiled underneath the mask and, for kicks, tried to take his best pose for trying to intimidate Team 10. The jounin in charge of the team noticed this, and Chiisai almost bowed his head in embarrassment when he noticed the lop-sided grin grow on the jounin's face as the genin in front of him grouped together just a slight bit more. The Hokage finished the brief and dismissed Team 10 to their regular duties of back to back D-rank missions. "Step forward, San. I have a lot to discuss with you this morning before we leave for training."

"Hai, Sandaime-sama." Chiisai was quick to snap to attention. The cat-masked ANBU still stood vigil just over his left shoulder, but he wasn't worried. The view of the Sandaime Hokage sitting behind his large wooden desk was slowly being ingrained to his brain as the sun streamed from the large windows in front of him leaving Sarutobi as the only thing he could fully make out in his vision.

"Now, San, what do you know of your parents?" The Hokage watched for any body language that would give away whatever Chiisai might try to hide.

"I know that we were last of our family because of some of the tribal shinobi clan disputes in the northwest of Fire Country. They had been warring with a couple of the cross border clans when it, I mean the attack, happened. My father brought my mother to Konoha after the rest of the family was killed and she was poisoned while they escaped. He traded their services of becoming Konoha ninja in return of safe haven, medical treatment, and the promise of diplomatic immunity if any of the bordering clans sought retribution while they were out. I don't really remember anything else because I was three when they went out on a mission and never came back."

"Very impressive. I can now tell you a bit about what happened on that mission that they never came back from since you are of age now. Your parents were serving as forward scouts to an ANBU mission into Earth Country. They were selected because of their knowledge of the area that was to be traveled. They were killed after the mission was complete and the ANBU squad was escaping back here. They held off several pursuing squads after handing off their Konoha headbands and once again donned the family crest. Your father left one copy of the crest with me for you when it was the proper time. I am glad to say it is now time for me to give it over." The Hokage handed over a dark, ashen grey armband that had a stylized bear-print that seemed to be made of a purple flame. "You may wear this as either San or your normal identity but not both."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I live to serve the will of my Hokage for the betterment of the village." Chiisai bowed as he received the armband. He looked down and ran his thumb over the outline of the crest before testing the band's strength in his hands. His thoughts were jumbled in his mind but one thing was clear. His clan had been a shinobi clan. His dream was to be the best shinobi he could be. He tied band to the left arm of the black jumpsuit he wore as San and bowed to Sarutobi one final time.

Hiruzen smiled at Chiisai and stood from the desk. He gestured for the cat-masked ANBU to depart and stepped closer to the window. "Today, we will begin training in the art of bojutsu. I, myself, am an avid practitioner of the style. Follow me to the top of the Hokage Monument and we will begin training up there at Training Ground 79." Chiisai nodded his ascent and quickly followed after Sarutobi through the office window that had been left open.

_Naruto- Tobirama's Training Ground_

Naruto sat cross-legged as he listened to Kakashi lecture on the importance of the basics and honoring the sacredness of the substitution technique and the log involved. He was mesmerized by the lecture and for once didn't have a problem sitting still through the explanation. As Kakashi finished, Naruto raised his hand, and at Kakashi's nod asked a question. "Kakashi-sensei, why can't all lectures at the academy be as good as this?"

"Well, not all deal with such an important topic. Now remember what I said about holding the henge and kawarimi in high regard. Those two techniques have toppled more leaders than other shinobi would like to think. Also, respect the log and the log will protect you. I also believe it is time for you to start the part of training that we are scheduled to handle this fine morning. First, we will head up to the equipment room about half-way up. I will give you a run-down about what is important to wear as a ninja in Team 0. Also, you will begin wearing the mask anytime you train with me and the others and go by the codename Yon. Sasuke will be Ichi, Sakura will be Ni, and Chiisai will be San. These names are to be used from this point on whenever you guys are training or on missions. Around the village, however, you are strictly only allowed to use your given names and not allude to the codename at any time. We will finish today's session off with some blade techniques for your knives and taijutsu refining." Naruto nodded along and quickly fetched his mask off his bunk as Kakashi finished.

They quickly ascended the stairs to the equipment room and Kakashi noticed the way that Naruto had the dual sheaths placed along his back. One had the handle of the kukri knife on his right shoulder for quick access on his right hand. When he drew it, it would have the blade facing up. The other was placed just to the left of his spine with the handle pointed towards the left hip. "Ok, first off, the orange jumpsuit has to go. It's fine for around the village, but training and missions require something more shinobi like. Head in and grab the things you'll think you need. I'll be right here if you have any questions."

"I actually have one to start, Kakashi-sensei. Can I have other weapons then just kunai, shuriken, and the kukri knives?"

"Yeah, you can, it would be highly irregular but if you see something other than the standard kunai and shuriken on one of the racks go ahead and grab it. I'll give you a yes or no on whether they would work with the training you are already doing or not."

Naruto rushed into the equipment room and started searching high and low through everything available. Kakashi watched from the doorway as Naruto started to collect several types of clothing and weapons. He ducked down at the doorway to try to get a better look at some of the piled equipment but everything was a congealed mess. A second later the orange jumpsuit was thrown towards the door from behind a rack of clothing Naruto had just gone behind. "Keep that safe, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi chuckled as he decided to throw a joke in his student's direction. "If by safe, you mean torch it with a highly effective Katon technique, I will." Kakashi heard a thump and a mumbled curse as Naruto heard what was said. He laughed harder as Naruto came stumbling out from behind the rack. He took a good look at his student, though, and was struck silent while taking in the sight of the new Naruto. He stood in the regular shinobi sandals but they were a heavy smoke grey instead of the usual blue. His pants were now regular ANBU style with bandages binding them from the knee down. Two larger than normal black kunai pouches sat on each leg while the usual rucksack attached to the belt was set askew so that it hung lower and to the left while another belt held the pants up with the rucksack sitting normally on the right side. His shirt was a muscle shirt with long-sleeved mesh armor underneath. Over that he had a set of chest armor that closely resembled a vest but had samurai-like shoulder guards and the neck was higher so that it ended just beneath Naruto's chin, also armored so that it would take more to aim for the vital areas in his neck. His arms had three-quarter length gauntlets that were banded twice on the forearms. Finally his mask was on his face and a small hood attached to the neck of his armor so that he could quickly pull it over his hair. The mask itself was black with the lenses tinted a menacing orange, a bloodied sneer was adorned for the mouth, and the tongue was stuck out of the mask between the two lower fangs also bloodied.

"How do you like it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's upbeat voice came out muffled and slightly distorted from the mask. This served to snap Kakashi back to the present as he had been seeing phantoms of past ANBU, Hokage, and high jounin overlap Naruto. Kakashi shook his head and then ruffled Naruto's hair.

"I think this will do you well, Yon. Now you fit in with all the other scary ANBU killers that wonder the mythology of Konoha. Now what other weapons were you going to add to your collection?"

Naruto unsnapped one of the kunai pouches on each leg and drew out a long knife that heavily resembled the regular kunai, but were bulkier and had more weight to them. "I find these in the back stack of kunai but they aren't normal you know. I also grabbed a few of the collapsing fuma shuriken with three and four blades apiece." He then paused in his recounting as reached down into the equipment pile he had left before and shuffled aside many of the mesh armor tops and cloaks to drag one more piece of weaponry off of the ground. "I also like these, but I haven't been able to find out what they would classify as though, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi took the proffered weapon and started to analyze it. It was double-edged but there was an additional curved blade sticking off from just above the hilt. A long garland of rope was attached to the base of the pommel. "Ah, a Kyoketsu-shoge. They are used much like a kusarigama, but you can only use them for pulling slashes or straight stabs though. If you want to use this, you can train in off time, but remember to only use it as a last resort because they are better used as an aid for climbing taller buildings now."

Naruto nodded and took it back before tucking it into the right rucksack on his person. Naruto then moved to grab a backpack off the wall and throw in the combined pile of equipment while collecting a few scrolls and a few boxes of explosive notes. "Ok, Kakashi-sensei, I'm ready to go." Kakashi nodded and led him back down to the base floor of the training grounds.

"Yon, we will go forward with taijutsu and the kukri knives, but first we need to spar so I can begin to gauge what style would best be suited for you." At that declaration, Naruto cast aside his backpack and quickly moved to in front of Kakashi and took the Academy style stance. "Let's begin."

_Hiruzen, Danzo, Kakashi- Top floor of Tobirama Training Ground_

"Hokage-sama, Danzo-san, I believe that they are well worn out from the day. What is going to be the directive for tomorrow?" Kakashi was casually leaning against the stone wall that led out of the tunnel with the last vestiges of an afternoon sun casting light down upon him. Danzo stood further down into the room so that the light was less around him while Hiruzen stood between the two.

"Tomorrow, Naruto will be coming with me. Sasuke has started his behavioral modification, but we cannot push it more than once or twice a week. I will start toning down some of that over-enthusiasm that young Uzumaki has so that he will make a credible operative for the village. After the morning session, I will have him running the beginning of Futon technique so that he won't kill himself with Futon: Shinkuha." Danzo's lone eye was squinted in concentration as his mind wandered over what had been taking place that day.

"Sakura-san and Chiisai-kun will be spending the day with you tomorrow, Kakashi. I instructed Chiisai in bojutsu, and Sakura can only meet with the head medic three days out of the week. Focus on equipping them like you did Naruto today. Refine some taijutsu maneuvers for Chiisai and stamina training for Sakura. I will have Sasuke and I will educate him on how to weave his attacks together so that he can begin to understand how all of the Katon techniques interweave. That should also start the basics for when it would be optimal for him to have genjutsu cast during a fight." Hiruzen had his head bowed as he spoke.

Kakashi noticed a scroll in his hand that was obviously holding the majority of the Hokage's attention. "A border report, Hokage-sama?"

"No, no, nothing from any of the border patrols. It is Jiraiya-san. He has been starting to report some troubling information about Orochimaru, a rebellion in Amegakure, and a general unease in the Five Great Nations. These things started to contribute why we built the teams we did this year, but it seems that it might be getting even worse than we originally thought. We will have to send a fake Team 7 into the Chunin Exams this year at this rate. Team 0 will have to pose as an unaligned ninja team that was given exemption to the three person team buildup because of the high entry fees for freelance shinobi. The fake Team 7 will just have bunshin of some sort composing the three boys and we will give the impression that Sakura renounced her attempt this year so that she could do remedial medic training." Kakashi and Danzo nodded along as Hiruzen stated these things. It wouldn't be the first time that some freelance shinobi had tried to partake in the Chunin Exams to boost their fame and attract worthwhile clientele.

"When will they start taking actual missions?" Kakashi's eye showed a lazy attitude, but even with that the two veterans knew better.

"They will do a few D-ranks in a couple weeks after training hard. I think a Tora mission or two will help with team-building outside of the night training sessions that will focus primarily on that topic. A C-rank should open up for them in about two months' time. By then they should be ready for it. The Chunin Exam is still six months away. They'll have the prerequisite by then." Hiruzen laid out the facts in an even tone for the two fellow senseis. Danzo moved closer to the other two while Hiruzen had been talking of missions.

"ANBU of all branches will also be stepping in to help train while also boosting the training regime of off duty operatives. Kakashi-san, you will be going on a daily rotation starting next week with all of them. One day will be focused on one of the genin and so on. Sakura will be attending medic training exclusively every other day throughout the week and then having the weekend and off days here to train either with Team 0, yourself, or one of the ANBU. Chiisai will circulate between the three of us and ANBU. Sasuke will circulate purely between the three of us and behavioral alteration. Naruto will have the heaviest schedule. The three of us will have a heavy hand in his training, but ANBU will also have a large amount of training sunk into him. We cannot allow him to go so heavily untrained."

Kakashi nodded to what was said and silently agreed with what was brought up. "At your pleasure then, I will be leaving to go resupply from my own personal stock for the exercise tonight. I'll be back in three hours."

"Don't be late." A cloud of smoke accompanied the directive and Hiruzen turned to Danzo as they both started to slowly advance down the tunnel. Shadows followed in their steps, but the ANBU operatives could not detect what the conversation was.

_Naruto, Chiisai, Sasuke, and Sakura- Bottom Level Tobirama Training Ground_

Naruto sat on his bunk as he watched the other three genin of his team carry out their activities that eluded his knowledge. Sasuke sat on the top of the dividing wall as he ran a small stone along some shuriken blades and had a spool of ninja wire close at hand. Sakura was lying on her bed with her feet kicked up into the air behind her. Two books were opened in front of her and she had a small notebook that was being scribbled in as she went about studying. Chiisai was also seated on his bunk with his gi-type shirt off and applying a medicinal cream to his upper arms and shoulders.

"How'd training go, Chiisai?" Naruto spoke up with only the intention to break the silence that had gathered over the four. Chiisai stopped applying the cream and looked over at Naruto. Naruto stopped spinning one of his kukri knives in his hand with the intent to be able to switch grips almost instantaneously.

"Hokage-sama is a hard taskmaster but fair in it. He still deserves the title of Kami no Shinobi. He beat me to a pulp in sparring without even trying."

"That's because you all are weak." Sasuke's assertion startled Sakura into looking up from her books and forced the other boys into a grimace. "I can't believe I'm getting paired with you guys. You'll only hold me back."

"Yeah right, Sasuke. If anything I'm going to be stronger than you'll ever dream of being. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage and the best ninja there ever was!" Naruto grinned widely and his eyes squinted to combat the rather sour look on Sasuke's face that was directed down at the others. His grin was interrupted when a fist impacted off the back of his head and sent him face first into the pillow of his bunk.

"Shut up, Naruto-baka! You'll never compare to Sasuke-kun." The fan-girl in Sakura had acted almost instinctively to the challenge of Sasuke's superiority, but Sakura's rational mind was trying to pick through what she had just done. 'Naruto may be stupid, but we are all stuck down here with only each other to spend time with. I can't be constantly trying to beat on anyone or they'll stop spending time around me and I'll be all alone.' She grimaced as she saw the welt start to develop on Naruto's head and Chiisai was looking slightly upset as he stood from his bunk to move to Naruto's aid. "Sasuke-kun, wouldn't you like to train with me?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted and then rolled backwards off of the divider. The sound of his sandals touching ground preceded the sound of sprinting footsteps heading up the tunnel to one of the six levels above. Sakura looked dejected and Naruto instantly felt sorrow for his boyhood crush.

He jumped up in front of her and started waving his arms in a wide circle so that Sakura was forced to lend her attention his way. "Sakura-chan, you can always train with me." He saw the look that started to cross Sakura's face as his statement came to an end. "Oh, and Chiisai. You can train with Chiisai and me. That way we'll make an awesome team that Sasuke will have to work with." Sakura nodded her head and picked up her kunai/shuriken pouch off of her bunk and followed the two boys out into the middle of the open area. Naruto instantly created a Kage Bunshin and started to square off against Sakura and Chiisai. "I bet I'll win this spar!" With that declaration all hell broke loose as flying doppelgangers and weapons were sent around the room for the next hour or so.

_ANBU operatives, Hiruzen, and Danzo- Second Level (Two hours later)_

Two ANBU members were kneeled in front of Hiruzen and Danzo. The two had just exited a small room off of the main chamber and night had fallen heavily outside. Torches burned bright and illuminated only the middle of the corridor that the two men had been passing through. The two operatives in front of them had piqued their interest though as they were the ones tasked with observing the genin of Team 0 while the men had been finishing last minute work for the day and enjoying a small late dinner to discuss village events.

"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama, Team 0 has made an interesting development that we did not see coming while you were away." The masked figures were still insistently looking towards the floor with clasped fists resting on the floor and the other fists over their hearts.

"Go on with your report, Boar." Danzo ordered to the ANBU on the right. The ninja nodded their head and some of the tension in his posture was released.

"They are in the six hour resting period now, but they began it with a small convention of sorts. Uzumaki-san tried to start a conversation with Koguma-san to break the tension in the bunk area. Uchiha-san quickly intruded and berated his teammates on being weak. An argument broke out between Uzumaki and Uchiha, but the argument was interrupted by Haruno punching Uzumaki for disrespecting Uchiha. Koguma-san then stood from his bunk and was about to verbally accost Haruno. It degenerated from there to Haruno seeking a private situation with Uchiha-san. The Uchiha then abandoned the team to practice his shuriken techniques on Level 4. Uzumaki then turned the situation to team training for him, Koguma-san, and Haruno-san for the next hour so that they could better approach Uchiha-san's level and integrate better as a team." The ANBU broke off his explanation when Danzo raised a hand to silence him. Hiruzen then addressed the other ANBU.

"I'm guessing you followed Uchiha-kun then Rabbit."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. He went to Level 4 and practiced his shuriken technique, but became frustrated with his progress after about forty-five minutes. He then came down the tunnel and noticed his teammates sparring. He hid in the entrance to the final level to watch the ongoing interaction. From what I could see, his eyes portrayed jealousy, but I don't believe that he even realized that he was jealous of his teammates interacting. He retreated back up the tunnel some when they started to bring the extra training session to an end. He reintegrated himself back into the group as they ate a small meal of ration bars and ramen that Uzumaki handed out to the rest of the team. They then went to sleep as a team in the bunk section and await the awakening for night training in four hours." The ANBU finished his report to the Hokage and Danzo and they both dispersed back to their over-watch positions.

Danzo looked over at Hiruzen and took a few seconds to order his ideas. "I believe I will have to curb his behavioral modification to get rid of the Uchiha superiority complex and refine the inferiority complex he is starting to display so that it will drive him to train but not interfere with team dynamics."

"Hmm, yes that sounds appropriate. We will also have to downplay the revenge drive in him so that he will accept help from the team when it comes time to hunt down Itachi. Naruto also will have to have his exuberance toned down, but I think we should reaffirm the loyalty and compassion he is showing so that he knows that the team, and to a greater extent the village, come first. I think he is fixing himself as team captain amongst themselves while Sakura and Chiisai are embracing their support roles."

Danzo agreed to Hiruzen's statement and they started down the tunnel to Level 5 to finish the last vestiges of paperwork they had and prepare for the night training. "We will have to see how the handle failure or victory as a team when they go through one of the training bunkers over in ANBU Training Ground 1 tonight. Hopefully, we can see how young Uzumaki operates as a leader if we establish that he will be in charge tonight and that leadership will rotate throughout the night training."

"I agree. At least it will be fun sending a bunch of genin through the ringers that Hashirama and Tobirama-sensei put our teams through." Danzo chuckled slightly as Hiruzen started to laugh and shadow enveloped the two old war veterans.

**A/N:** Ok, here is another chapter. Just so you all know I appreciate any reviews, but I am glad with you all just reading my humble work. I know that it seems that it is starting rather slow but I still want to introduce the changes that will be happening in the next few chapters before I dive into the Chunin Exams. I believe I will hit the exams in about four or five chapters but it all depends on how long the Wave mission will take and whether I will throw in another C-rank or two for Team 0. I also posted a poll on my profile to get a read on what people would like to see as Naruto's second element that will start to be developed in the form of a jutsu taught in between the second and third rounds of the exam. Also, Jiraiya might be making an appearance a little sooner than everyone thinks and Kakashi's interaction with Zabuza is also going to have a change because we will get to see my take on an ANBU-like Kakashi that leads Team 0. Enjoy and I will try to appease you all with another chapter soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, had some troubles with the laptop not wanting to work with me and then my sister's dog chewing the charging cord after I had drained the battery and was trying to charge it. I also have been extremely lazy with writing because of trying to find a steady job while also catching up on One Piece in my down time. This chapter is going to have some good old-fashioned team rivalries develop. About two months have gone by since last chapter and they will have started to settle into their team roles and skills. I won't really show all of their skills until the Chunin Exam arc. I don't own anything Naruto related so no worries there.

**Chapter 4 Forest around Konoha**

Four shadows dashed through the forests surrounding the outskirts of the village. The sun started to cast the long shadows as the afternoon started to close. A white ball of fur dashed for dear life in front of the shadows in a magical game of cat-and-mouse. The white fur-ball ducked into the dense floor foliage that littered underneath the treetops.

"Ichi in position."

"San is in position."

"Ni now in position."

"Yon is on target."

The four statements were fired off with a smooth clip to the delivery of the four shadows. The compass points around where the fur-ball had disappeared were covered and a larger fifth shadow came down from the top of the tree canopy to just above where the first four were located. "Commence the retrieval so we can return to the tower. Remember, no damage that is noticeable is to be left on the target."

The shadows all answered in the affirmative before they continued down the trees. One readied a small net from their equipment pouch and signaled the others. The plan was quickly forming as two of the shadows quickly descended and touched the ground before the others. Hand-signs were quickly being performed and the net was being spread above the foliage as the fur-ball poked its head out. It looked in between the two operatives before it as a confused mewling escaped it. "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu." (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) The cat seized up and seemed to drop unconscious as the net quickly descended and enwrapped it.

"Don't wake it up until we get it back and finish this mission."

"Sounds like a good idea, San. This demon doesn't deserve the joy it would get from tormenting us from inside the net. Yon, you get to carry it."

"But, Ni, that thing keeps attacking me no matter what. I don't want to do it."

"Do it, Yon-baka."

"Shut up, Ichi-teme."

The fifth shadow dropped down to the forest floor and continued on into town while motioning over his shoulder for the four to follow him. The four quickly started to follow and San threw the net over to Yon as he and the others started to laugh. "Sensei, what do we get to learn about this afternoon?"

"Well, we will have another team training session in tactics this afternoon and then the four of you will be testing the progression of yourselves against Teams 8 and 10. Ichi and Yon are going up against Team 8, and the other two will face Team 10. Remember the cover stories that you are independent, Daimyo-sponsored shinobi and cannot remove the masks because of contracts signed between yourselves and the Daimyo. If any of the other senseis try to say something I will be in the wings watching and try to make your explanations as believable as possible as the Daimyo-appointed sensei for you."

"Hai, sensei." They all chorused as they walked closer to the tower before Sasuke paused in mid-stride to look up at Kakashi.

"Won't it be a little risky participating with Team 8 for Yon and me? They have a Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka on the team. Those three alone should be able to determine who we are inside of a minute and blow our covers."

"Hahaha, well, it was right of you to think of the danger, Ichi, you have failed in doubting your senseis. The masks that you are given are the same handed to ANBU that do not let Byakugan look through them because of the chakra passed through the makings of it. The Aburame's bugs will not be able to tell who you are because seals within the suits dampen the feel of chakra and suppress any personal natures of it. You will essentially appear to be using generic chakra for any technique as though it was the bunshin or kawarimi jutsu. Your scent is also altered by the bodysuits and thus any Inuzuka ninken and shinobi will not be able to readily identify you outside of those bodysuits."

"Hai, sensei, as long as the bases are covered." The squad continued its march down the last alley before the tower. Silence pervaded the atmosphere as the genin thought on the challenges that were about to be approached as soon as the afternoon got closer. The doors to the tower silently loomed in front of them with the specters of the hidden ANBU watchers that they were to be avoiding as much as possible so connections to the team's real identities could not be established.

"Team Zero, right on time." The secretary's voice was easily able to carry throughout the silent room. "The Hokage and his assistant are available to take your reports and see about another mission."

"Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate it." Kakashi stepped forward and lead the team through the doors and into the mission control room. The Hokage sat behind a large oaken table in an ornate chair while Iruka and a couple of other chunin were busy reading through various written reports and request and stacking them as appropriate.

"Hokage-sama, Team Zero is reporting to you that the mission is complete as asked. Are there any other orders for us before we continue with bonding exercises between this team from the capital and a few of the younger genin squads?" Kakashi's voice, though concealed, still sent off a feeling of apathy to the situation while the rest of Team Zero took silent joy in the fact that no sooner had the net been passed to an assistant than the feline assassin was freed into the arms of its eagerly waiting owner. The whimpers of doom were solace rightly deserved for the team as they awaited the Hokage's words.

The Hokage just smiled in silent pride of his team's growth over the month of D-ranks. "No, no. I believe Team 8 should be awaiting the first contingent of your team at the area of Training Ground 3. The other contingent should head for Training Ground 11 and await the arrival of Team 10. It shouldn't be too much longer before Team 10 completes its daily D-rank, but the team itself seems to lack a certain drive so you may want to grab a lunch to eat while you wait." The genin of Team Zero quickly nodded and split into the two groups that were destined for different grounds that day with Kakashi making a simple mud-clone to follow after the team of Sakura and Chiisai.

**Training Ground 3- Team 8, Ichi, Yon, and Kakashi**

The introductions had been quick between the two teams especially with two of them going by just numbers. They had then started to stretch and loosen themselves for the match while Kakashi, under his guise, and Kurenai had hashed out a deal on what the rules would be. The genin of Team 8 had quickly settled into their own discussion while readying a few of the weapons they possessed for the upcoming match. Kiba's voice carried over the breeze to Sasuke and Naruto as he traded insults about them to his team and the bravado quickly seemed repulsive to the two. Sasuke started to make for the small scroll that held his chokuto, but Naruto stayed his hand and shook his head to convey that it could wait for the actual match to draw it.

Kurenai approached the two teams before gesturing for them to quiet down. "Team, we will be conducting a type of points-based spar. Solid hits are worth three points, glancing blows are worth one and any traps or jutsu used constitute two points. The first of the two teams to reach a total of thirty points will be declared the winner and the daimyo's retinue team will retire for the afternoon." Naruto looked over to Kakashi as he and Sasuke eagerly awaited the signal of the level of danger they would be allowed to broach today. Kakashi's nod and a signal of three allowed the two to understand and Naruto lifted his hand in question for Kurenai.

"Yes, Yon, what is your question?"

"Will substituting wooden training weapons instead of the actual weapon lead to a diminishing of points allotted for the strike?" Sasuke nodded as well at the end of the question and Kurenai shook her head in the negative. Both boys then reached for small green scrolls and unsealed the wooden kukri knives and chokuto held within. The two then spun to face Team 8 and lowered themselves into some of the basic ready stances that they had been learning.

Kakashi looked over them and nodded while thinking to him, 'They've grown. The night training on top of missions and regular training has brought out the leadership qualities in these two. Sasuke seems to be getting a little bull-headed though, and Naruto is still all brawns and no brain outside of battle. Wonder if they've taken well to their forms when they're not getting kicked around a training field for six hours at a time?'

Sasuke stood in a loose Interceptor Fist stance, but it was also blended with some of the Iron Fist style that Kakashi had known the best. Naruto on the other hand was constantly moving his lower body as if to a rhythm while his hands weaved through basic patterns with the kukri knives to keep up a semblance of heavy defense up front. Kiba stood in front of Shino and Hinata. The showdown was on for the two teams and a tense atmosphere had settled as Kiba's back foot settled firmly into the ground and Akamaru had hopped off his head and stood between his feet.

Sasuke's hands moved in a bastardized version ANBU sign language. '_Dog-boy goes first. He and the dog are too dangerous for us to leave for him to attack from angles." _Naruto nodded his agreement as Kurenai looked on in shock at the interaction.

'These kids are serious. Most teams don't try to communicate through sign language unless they have serious experience under their belts. My kids are in trouble.' Kurenai almost moved to interrupt the match before it could get started, but Kakashi intervened. He held his hand up to stop her and shook his head silently in disagreement to her actions. He then signed in Konoha's actual sign language that it was too late to turn back now as the boys from his team had already moved in action.

Naruto had seen Kurenai start to move and his boisterous nature would not allow for the match to be taken away before it could even start. Sasuke was quick on his tail and the boys shot forward as quickly as they could and Kiba was almost caught flat-footed by their instantaneous targeting of him. He smirked as they neared him and Shino moved to try to strike from the flank of the charge. Naruto went into a sliding kick purely aimed at Akamaru and Sasuke through a shuriken to intercept Shino. Shino dodged back out of the blade's way, but could only look on with Hinata as they saw Akamaru rocket off the foot of one of the assailants with Kiba stuck gob-smacked in the air.

Sasuke then pushed off of Naruto's cupped hands to fly at Kiba. Kiba tried to defend as best he could but the wooden chokuto found its mark in his midsection. He went off balance and the chokuto in Sasuke's hand struck off of him as he was sent plummeting to the awaiting Naruto. Naruto quickly spun full circle and launched two kunai at Shino and Hinata apiece to keep them at a distance from him. Kiba was head-down towards the ground when Naruto struck out with a forearm and launched him towards the staggering Akamaru and they crashed into each other. This served as a double knockout strike for the two Inuzuka combatants. Sasuke landed with his back to Naruto and Naruto said, "Two combatants down with a final score of twelve points for us and none earned for them. The Hyuga and Aburame are the only remaining competitors in this if we finish quick. Three solid hits are required per combatant."

"Understood, Yon. I'll take the Hyuga; you have the more suitable stances for the Aburame."

"Pierced kunai formation?"

"Yeah, rotate to gamma procedure every fifth strike attempt."

"Sounds appropriate to me."

The two then quickly took off with Naruto quickly drawing his kukri knives across each other which somehow caused a small flash of light to be triggered. Shino's shades helped account for that surprise but the sudden flash still brought a little bit of disorientation to the position of Naruto. He surged forward after the flash and was able to strike Shino along the ribs with one of the kukri knives before having to dodge back from a retaliatory backhand. The kikaichu insects flowed from the folds of Shino's sleeve and formed a defensive ring around him. "Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)". A blast of wind took off from Naruto's lips after a quick flip through the hand-signs. A small but heavy wind blew out in front of him and scattered some of the ring of insects and a kunai ring first flew forward behind the wind and hit Shino in the shoulder.

A grunt escaped Shino's mouth and he threw down a smoke bomb to obscure his position. He hid in some of the underbrush a few meters from where he had been standing and he looked over to the other shinobi battle taking place with his teammate. Hinata was barely managing to knock aside sword strikes with two kunai and was starting to sweat. A bead of perspiration made its way from Shino's afro down the side of his face. 'We need to come together on this one. They have us outclassed in single combat while Hinata and I are better suited for combination techniques with Kiba involved.' He made to move from his position towards Hinata when a voice echoed out above him.

"Ichi, go to formation beta. My opponent went to ground." Naruto, unknowingly, jumped right over Shino and made a beeline for the existing fight. Sasuke nodded o Naruto's call and jumped back a few feet. His free hand quickly scooped up a brace of shuriken and sent them flying towards Hinata. She jumped back to dodge only to get kicked back forward from Naruto approaching from behind. The chokuto's wooden hilt caught her across the diaphragm and Hinata dropped into blissful unconsciousness. "I got two on the Aburame. How many did you get with the Hyuga?"

"The Hyuga was pretty smooth with dodging. Those were the only two solid hits that were able to land. Had two glancing blows though so we need four points to win out the duel." Sasuke was gritting his teeth behind his mask before Naruto nudged him.  
"You can finish it with the Aburame. I'll keep watch and lookout for any surprises in case the Inuzuka or Hyuga wake up." Naruto was smirking and backed up so to allow Sasuke to work out some of his aggressions that was slowly building up from throughout the match. "Ichi, just remember, leave him in one piece."

Shino shivered under his jacket at the statement. Kurenai's face showed complete shock in the ease with which a statement like that was said. Kakashi was grinning from ear to ear under his mask and started chuckling at the devious, meaner side of Naruto's humor and how it was only growing under his training.

Sasuke jumped directly for the brush that Shino had been hiding in while weaving through hand signs. "Katon: Gokakyu (Fire Style: Great Fireball)". The fireball tore through the bush and Shino was quickly up on a branch slightly behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned and caught the kick that had been aimed for his back and delivered a quick glancing blow along Shino's knee before throwing him away. Shino stumbled and turned back to facing Sasuke with a kunai raised. Chokuto and kunai met in a clash as both fighters fought for dominance. Shino started to leverage Sasuke with his greater height and strength. Sasuke looked up at Shino and quickly dropped the chokuto and as Shino stumbled forward. A jackhammer fist was swiftly delivered to Shino's shoulder and Sasuke sprung back out of range. "That's thirty points and the match. Thank you for the honorable battle, Aburame-san." Sasuke and Naruto then bowed to Shino and then Kurenai as they followed Kakashi out of the training grounds.

_**Training Ground 11- Team 10, Chiisai, Sakura, and Kakashi**_

Chiisai stood in front of Sakura as Ino tried to badger them both with questions about their true identities behind the mask. Shikamaru sat against a tree trunk a couple of yards away with his eyes closed. Choji was posted dutifully at a right angle on the trunk from his childhood friend and looked between Ino and the mystery team. "C'mon, just tell me your real names! I'm not really supposed to believe that your names are Ni and San do you?"

"If I told you my name or my partner's name, I would then have to slaughter you and your team. Even though you are clan heirs there are still things that would require your death if you delved too far." Chiisai's crossed arms and the mask glaring finally got Ino to take a step back from him and stop trying to poke at him. Sakura took a step back from Chiisai and looked at him with a small smile under her mask. She nodded to him and Chiisai took it to mean 'Thank you'.

"Ino, just leave them alone. They answer solely to the Daimyo. That technically puts them on par with high jounin/specialized ninja in the village that only answer to the Hokage. They will probably be making a report to the Daimyo anyway. Would you want your pushiness to be the type of character trait that precedes you if you ever have to meet the Daimyo for a mission?" Shikamaru's eyes were still heavily shut with arms cradling his head but a tic mark was easily seen on his forehead. Choji was snickering loudly and small flakes of chips fell from his lips to the grass beneath him.

"What about how you look? Do you two have to wear the masks all the time? That's got to suck. Not being able to know if your teammate is hot or anything." Stars started to appear before her eyes as her imagination started to run away on her. "I bet I could even tell if it was Sasuke-kun behind a mask. He's so handsome that he would just exude his presence while having his face covered."

Sakura huffed under her breath and moved her fingers in the bastardized version of the ANBU sign language they knew. 'He would be puking right now if he could hear Ino-pig. Do we have to wait for the match to beat her senseless?'

Chiisai quickly signed back to Sakura, 'Yeah, we have to wait for the rules to be agreed upon; otherwise we risk a village incident. It could technically create tension with Asuma Sarutobi and Hiruzen-sensei. Sensei would have to act somewhat upset but couldn't really push anything. We are his students but the story goes that we belong to the Daimyo's personal court of protectors that replaced the Ninja Guardians that Asuma was once a part of." He got a nod in response as a rustling came from where the senseis of Team Zero and Team Ten had gone off in.

Kakashi stood next to Asuma as they walked towards their students. Naruto and Sasuke still in their battle attire followed sharply on Kakashi's heel. Sakura stood a little straighter as she spotted Sasuke approaching her position. Ino looked at the two younger approaching shinobi and smirked to herself. She approached the nearer of the two and decided to try flirting with him. Sakura went from disbelief to bemusement once she realized exactly who was under the mask that Ino was unashamedly throwing herself at. "Yon, what are you and Ichi doing here? I thought you guys had a match with Team 8?"

Naruto looked from Ino, who was practically hanging off of him, to Sakura and back a couple of times. "Well, we already won the match. We came here with sensei to watch you guys."

Sasuke grunted and Chiisai gave the two a thumbs up. He then turned to look at Shikamaru and Choji. The two were now paying close attention to what was being said and Shikamaru had started to focus his thoughts and was no longer seeing the clouds that floated by overhead. Asuma was smirking slightly as he saw his male students start to take the potential showdown seriously.

Kakashi then explained the rules to his team as Asuma told Ino how Team 10 would win in the hopes that she would push the team to try harder. The duo of Sakura and Chiisai were quickly conversing on what should be done. "Nara clan members are known to be extremely versatile with the jutsus they use and the knowledge they possess is known to be scary accurate. Akimichi are bruisers like Yon and I. They can take and deal a lot of damage sometimes in the same instant. Yamanaka are good just not for frontline battle. She seems to be the backbone and motivation of the team though." Chiisai was listing facts as he and Sakura were formulating a plan.

"I plan on the Yamanaka should be the first to go. Then the Nara should go. The Akimichi is the only threat to the plan though. He could rack a lot of points up for them if we aren't careful."

Chiisai looked up and motioned for Yon and Ichi to come closer. "What was the margin of victory for you two?"

Sasuke looked to Naruto and Naruto was looking right back before the both shrugged and looked at Kakashi, simultaneously. "Should we tell them?"

Kakashi was quick to motion that they could go ahead and say if they so desired. Asuma and Ino were attentive to the coming answer since Asuma had agreed to the same terms for the match as Kurenai. Shikamaru and Choji were listening but unaware of the significance this could place on the map. Naruto stepped back and motioned for Sasuke to go ahead with the gloating. "We beat Team 8 with a final team score of thirty points for us and no points earned by Team 8. The match lasted about five, maybe ten, minutes." The obvious gloating could be discerned as both boys then high-fived each other. "You two have to win with at least a margin of thirty points to their four otherwise you guys get the night training exercise for the week and the two of us get to sleep." Another high-five was exchanged as Sakura huffed and crossed her arms.

Chiisai and Sakura quickly settled into their stances as Team 10 warily lined up across from them. Asuma quickly called a beginning to the match as both teams scattered. Chiisai motioned for Sakura to cast a genjutsu over the field as he dipped his hand into the ground and brought rock boxing gloves on his fist. He leaped into the field and started to look to the trees across from him. He knew Sakura would head through the canopy to try to flank Ino and take her rival out points-wise.

A shadow shot out of the underbrush towards Chiisai was able to narrowly dodge the tendril. As he spun back to the direction that the shadow came from, he picked up on the fast approaching figure of Choji in his Ninkudan Sensha (Human Bullet: Tank) form. Another narrow dodge was quickly followed by a shadow ensnaring him. Choji went to attack the prone Chiisai when a quick burst of chakra to everyone's left was followed with the clatter of Ino's unconscious body bouncing several times towards Choji. Choji stopped and sprung towards Ino while the shadow recedes from Chiisai.

Chiisai then sprung up into the canopy himself and threw a smoke bomb down into the clearing. "Damn, Shikamaru has to go now." Chiisai sprinted through canopy and Sakura joined him in seconds. Her hands flew through more handsigns, and as she stopped and held the last, a high pitched whistling broke out and Choji looked to be trying to dodge many giant sized shuriken to Chiisai's eyes. He stopped and whispered "Kai," to himself and continued on towards his destination. He then slung his rock gloves towards the brush with a solid impact noise coming from it. Shikamaru stumbled out of the bush with a new bruise adorning his forehead. "That was lucky."

Sakura then landed behind Shikamaru and struck out at the same time with both tonfa to his back. Shikamaru went flying towards Chiisai in the tree-tops. As Chiisai struck him with a folded over bo-staff, Shikamaru struck out with a fist and solidly connected with Chiisai's jaw. "Even though we will probably lose, at least I'll be sleeping all night this week. Have fun. Five points scored by Team Ten." That declaration was quickly followed by Chiisai slinging Shikamaru as fast as he could into Choji and knocking both unconscious.

Naruto and Sasuke were looking at each other before a quick high-five was followed by an exultant Naruto rolling around on the ground and laughter emanating from his mask. Kakashi went over and gave him a swift, yet soft, kick to the ribs that got him to spring back to his feet. Chiisai and Sakura then trudged to their position as Kakashi gave thanks and dismissal for Team Zero and they took some of the hidden Training Ground routes to their underground lair.

_**Hokage's Office- Kakashi, Hiruzen, Danzo, Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai**_

Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage and his advisor as the other jounin lined the office just slightly behind him. A shadow clone of himself was also dressed in the guise of the Daimyo's shinobi sensei. Hiruzen cleared his throat and all of the jounin all snapped to attention even straighter. Danzo had a barely veiled smirk on his face as he awaited the Hokage's dressing down of four of the top jounin in Konoha. Three had been a little lackluster in the training while the last would still get a dressing down to keep up appearances.

"I want to start in by saying that this is obviously a serious let down on my part as Hokage. No offense to you, shinobi-san, but we did not expect that the training of our teams had slipped to such low levels." At this point the kage bunshin nodded while the other jounin looked to the floor in anger and disappointment. "You may be excused shinobi-san so that I may address my jounin privately." The bunshin nodded again and quickly left the office of the Hokage and dispelled in the stairwell.

"Hokage-sama, I must offer up my dearest, youthful apologies." Gai started to speak and would have gone on longer when an upraised hand from the Hokage froze him in place.

"I do not know how a team of beginners can beat out the three approved teams from this year as well as nearly defeat a team of one year veteran genin. Has the village not made it a prerogative to improve this upcoming generation?!" Hiruzen's hand smacked the solid surface of the desk caused Kurenai and Gai to flinch while Kakashi and Asuma weathered it due to backgrounds with harsh taskmasters. "Team Gai is supposed to be a frontline squad Gai. How were they brought to a draw in the match suited to their strength? One of the Daimyo's team even sat out of the match!"

Gai looked to the floor then back up to the desk of his superior. "I confess Hokage-sama that bravado got the better of my team. Lee-kun was nullified by genjutsu after being picked out as a taijutsu-reliant fighter and his teammates did not offer back-up when they should have. My weapon's specialist, TenTen, allowed herself to be lured into close quarters with Neji-kun when the numbers were against them when she should have kept the overlooking position to tactically take out members of the opposing team. Neji-kun also showed heavy reliance on his clan taijutsu and had overconfidence settle in. This lead to him being caught by two cross-firing jutsu that wounded him and brought the match to a draw since the two remaining in the opposing side ran out of chakra and collapsed."

Hiruzen steeped the hands in front of his mouth as a cloud of smoke wafted out between them. "Your team is being busted down to not having the requirement for the Chunin exams in four months. They must train, show improvement, and get the required missions within three months or they will miss out again. Am I understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Asuma, why might your team be lacking?" Hiruzen stared hard at his son and watched as Asuma's indifferent façade finally started to crack and caused a smirk to appear behind his hands.

"Team 10 is lacking in motivation. I can't find the trigger for them that will get them to excel. I try hard to train them, but I have failed them to the point that they were humiliated by the Daimyo's team. I request that the clan heads be present at the next week of training so that they may see that the children need more than clan techniques to survive on and get a spark to burn underneath them."

"I accept that request. Ino will also be required to cross train with Kurenai to be able to recognize, conjure, and dispel genjutsus for the team. The same punishment for Team Gai will also be imposed on Team Asuma. Understood?"

"Hai."

"Team Kakashi?"

"I have failed to impose a supreme leadership in the team make-up. Two of my students are leader material for the team and butt heads with each other constantly. The other two backs one or the other in the leadership realm. The division has started to affect teamwork and that was the downfall of my team currently. They also lack the drive to go beyond the basics in everything but the desired field they want and not where their talents would blossom."

"Team Kakashi will be imposed to D-rank missions for six months. You will not be allowed to enter your team in the Chunin exams this year. We cannot risk the two versatile shinobi on the team that are important to the village. If they were lost due to lacking teamwork, it would be a great negative to the village as well as a possible catastrophe if the seal were somehow unlocked. You will train them in what you as a sensei can pass on, and if they rebel, lock them up in minimum security cells until the two stubborn ones learn their lesson."

The jounin flinched at this declaration. Kakashi even felt bad for the non-sentient bunshin that would have to do this visible training that would have him even tired at the end of the day. "Understood, Hokage-sama. My team will be ready by this coming year."

Hiruzen then looked to Kurenai and she flinched but started her explanation started before Hiruzen could even ask. "Team 8 is good at tracking, but our frontline capabilities still seem to be lacking. Hinata is too kind to strike in any permanently debilitating way. Kiba is too brash and reckless. Shino is the only level headed one in the group and seems to be the pillar that the other two draw off of, but he can be easily overwhelmed by superior teamwork that can come against him. All three rely heavily on the clan techniques they were raised in, even if they believe they are deficient in them."

"Hinata will have to go through the kunoichi courses used to explain seduction and assassination missions then. We must harden her into a proper weapon of the village. Kiba and Shino will cross train with some jutsu specialists that will be made available to you so that they have something to rely on if they find themselves in situations where their symbiont were debilitated. Hinata will also have time to train under Gai, when Neji is not present, to improve the strikes in her taijutsu. They will receive the same punishment as Teams Gai and Asuma. Dismissed."

The four jounin filed from the room and left Danzo and Hiruzen alone in the office. "To think that our little devils are already fighting at low chunin level to compete against Gai's squad is amazing. They have all taken to the training even better than we believed. We will have to ratchet that up even more now though. They have to have the leg up on the other teams as well as any superstar competition that might swoop in during the Chunin Exams."

"Yes, Danzo, we will. I plan on taking Naruto and Chiisai out on a training trip at the end of next month. It should only be for about two weeks so that they will have time away from the slight discomfort with the village and their friendship that the populace looks down upon. You will serve as my representative for that time, but Sasuke will be left in your responsibility while Sakura will be doing a little survival course with Kakashi just outside the village."

"That sounds rather suitable. When is Jiraiya's next report due in?"

"About the time of my training trip. I plan on collecting it in person first then forwarding it to you. Jiraiya is saying that powers are gathering in the minor villages but no one has truly been able to unite any of them in a working alliance yet to attack. War still sits on the horizon, and yet the picture is still so muddied. Hopefully by then, Jiraiya will at least have a few prominent players that will be visible enough to be targeted before the exams. A strike against the minor villages' leadership wouldn't be well liked, but the message would be clear. Konoha will not tolerate plans against us."

"Agreeable again. Tobirama-sensei would be proud, Saru. Do Homura and Koharu have a handle on the upswing in responsibilities?"

"Yes. They don't like having to work so hard in retirement, but the village comes first. Team Zero is overdue for a C-rank though. What's the situation in Wave currently?"

"They are a little on the downtrodden side, but peaceful enough. None of my contacts have passed anything noteworthy from the area in the past year or so. Should be a good place to send a young team for a first C-rank, and it will provide good experience I training in the field and improve their water-walking exercises having the ocean beneath the feet and not the tranquil pool of the training ground."

"That sounds most pleasing for them then. I'll give Kakashi the heads-up later tonight and assign the mission to Team Zero in a day or two. Sake?" With that the two old friends/rivals sat across from each other and relieved old stories as they drank in remembrance of comrades lost to the struggles of protecting Konoha. Little did they know trouble awaited their new students in the lonely land of Wave.

**A/N:** Ok, hope you all enjoy this installment of Tails of Difference. I am not trying to overpower Team Zero, but they are a ways in front of Teams 8 and 10. They more got lucky with Team Gai by having two members being trained in what I see as the downfall of a pure taijutsu squad. I also apologize for the wait and hope you guys bear with me as I try to pump this out to you as quickly as possible. Review if you'd like or PM me with any questions you might have.


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